Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers NFL Preview and Odds
The Vikings and Packers get together in the NFC North this week in a huge game. Green Bay holds the first NFC Wild Card as of right now at 7-4, one game behind the Chicago Bears for the division lead. One game behind them in a tie for the second spot is the Minnesota Vikings at 6-5. Minnesota is tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks for the final playoff spot. The Packers and Vikings getting together this time of year means bone-chilling cold, hard hitting football. It's too bad they play indoors in Minnesota now. NFC North game should be played in the snow.
History
Both teams are coming off losses last week, so both should be in a foul mood this week. Green Bay is led by Aaron Rodgers, who is one of the game's best quarterbacks. He's won a Super Bowl and an MVP in the last two seasons. Green Bay has a potent passing attack with receivers Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and James Jones, the main targets. The ground game however is fairly non-existent with Cedrick Benson not getting much done.
The Vikings do have a ground game with Adrian Peterson who already has 1236 yards and seven touchdowns. Percy Harvin leads the receivers with 677 yards while also contributing 96 rush yards and 574 kick return yards. Second year quarterback Christian Ponder continues to impress as well with 2186 yards passing with 13 touchdowns.
These two long time rivals have met 102 times with the Packers holding a 53-48-1 advantage. The Vikings won the only postseason meeting. The Packers have a four game win streak in the series. The rivalry hit its peak in 2009 when the Vikings signed former Packers great quarterback Brett Favre. The teams split their two meetings that year with the first game on Monday Night Football earning the highest ratings in cable television history.
Minnesota went to the NFC Championship game that year, losing in overtime to the New Orleans Saints. The game should not have gone to overtime as Favre had the Vikings in position to win in regulation, but his fumble ended the threat and sent the game to overtime. The Vikings never touched the ball in overtime as the Saints won the coin toss, kicked a field goal and won the game. The result was a change in NFL overtime rules. Favre retired after the season and the next year, Rodgers led the Packers to the Super Bowl where they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Our Pick
5Dimes has the Vikings +9.5 -125 or +330. The Packers are -9.5 +105 or -410. The over/under is 46.5. We are going to take Minnesota +9.5. That is a lot of points for a team as good as the Vikings. We will also go with the under. Cold weather lends to good defense.
If Minnesota was to win the game, that would sure make the playoff race tight, especially if Tampa bay and Seattle wins this week too. This is that great time of year in the NFL when the games mean so much. That's another reason it's hard to pass up 9.5 points.
